Flood disaster 'of biblical proportions'

Skies in Queensland may have cleared but much of the state is still underwater.

More than 200,000 people have been affected by the worst flooding in the state's recorded history, which has hit an area bigger than France and Germany combined.

Thousands of residents saw in the New Year from evacuation centres although the weather was optimal for the revellers who flocked to vantage points overlooking the Brisbane River in the CBD.

South Australians celebrated after a day of scorching conditions, with temperatures climbing over 40 degrees and with much of the state on catastrophic fire warnings.

NYE in OZ - Sydney is Partytime

Around one billion people across the globe will watch Sydney's New Year's eve fireworks on television.

And 1.5 million people will line the harbour foreshore for a first hand experience of the pyrotechnic extravaganza.

This year's fireworks cost $5 million, but are predicted to reap $156 million for the state economy.

Vantage points identified by police as likely to attract the biggest crowds have been designated as alcohol free to cater for 'families, revellers and partygoers', NSW Premier Kristina Keneally told reporters at the same media conference.

Australians face Christmas washout

DREAMS of the great Aussie Christmas barbecue are all but washed out with the weather predicted to be wet and wild over the holiday period.

In what could be the worst present ever, rain or storms are predicted to hit Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane and Canberra on Christmas Day, according to weatherzone.com.au.

The best places to spend the day will be Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. While the conditions won’t be perfect due to predicted cloud, at least it won’t rain.

Boxing Day is set to be even more miserable with rain or storms predicted in Darwin, Alice Springs, Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

So we will be having a BBQ on the verandah out of the rain. Well at least the rain isnt fozen like in Europe!

Storm Front lashes Brisbane our garden gets hit by lightning!

Today I went out to Boonah for a gliding flight but when I got there I realised wild weather was on the way so turned round and went home. It was 35C and it just felt that a big storm wasnt far away, looking at the weather radar on the internet it showed a storm behind the mountains.

I arrived back home at 1pm just in time to see the storm front and the roll cloud arrive (see photos above!) with winds converging from two directions our house was soon battered by hailstones and driving rain coupled with lightning strikes getting closer all the time.

The sky just turned black so dark that our pool lights turned on. Our palm tree got hit by lightning (its just next to the house) and this blew out our phone and internet connection. Luckily we have mobile broadband so I can still work until the replacement modem comes next week. We went out later and bought a new phone. The storm dissappeared as quickly as it came but more is forecast for tonight.

Queensland certainly has some wild and spectacular weather, more storms are forecast tonight. Dont worry about us we'll be alright..

Big Wet just gets wetter and wetter...

I loaned my glider to a fellow club member who is taking it to a competition, we derigged it in the pouring rain on Saturday.

Falls of up to 160mm closed local roads and highways on Sunday, sparking landslides, power outages and forcing emergency services to issue numerous safety warnings.

As Emerald remained cut off in central Queensland, parts of the Gold and Sunshine coasts and Brisbane copped drenchings of their own.

In Brisbane, the weekend downpour brought recorded rainfall from December 1 to 115mm - only 18mm short of the monthly average of 133mm - six days into the month.

But it is in central Queensland where the big wet is having its biggest impact, closing roads, isolating towns, sparking evacuations, ruining crops and stranding long-haul truck drivers.

Roadtrains which have been taking refuge in Emerald could be stuck there for weeks as council engineers wait for the water to recede so they can inspect damage to roads and bridges.

The Big Wet continues

Its summer here but La Nina means we're getting a lot of rain...

THE Big Wet continues to bring traffic chaos to the southeast with flooding and landslips shutting more roads.

The Gold Coast Springbrook Road at Springbrook has been closed between Pine Creek Road and Austinville Road due to a landslip, while heavy downpours have forced vehicles off the road on the Gold Coast.

Police have warned of travel delays on the southeast's roads and advised motorists and heavy vehicles to avoid the M1 near Mudgeeraba due to the heavy rain. The area has been inundated with 135mm overnight.

The Bureau of Meteorology says Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast may all be hit by a storm today.

Brisbane residents woke up to a wet Sunday with heavy falls reported around the city.

Bayside suburbs around Manly, where 66mm fell in 24 hours, are amongst the soggiest.

Gliding Club Day 27 November 2010

Below is the write up from my Gliding Club's blog. I flew in my glider - WUN.

Club Day

An early morning briefing by Ross Hall and Mike Ridge, then great cross country gliding, a sausage sizzle by Keiren and Michelle, and a de-briefing to end the day and everyone went home very happy, even the instructors.

Four more pilots had discovered the excitement of going cross country.

The task was set by Mike Ridge and we all headed off about 1130 into a sky full of low but numerous cumulus.

First objective was, find a good thermal and take it to the top then head off in the task direction to the first turn point, the square dam outside Beaudesert. Once over the hills and into the Beaudesert valley there are plenty of long flat fields to think about while searching for a thermal.

David in WUN and John and Ken in NTT had raced ahead and were well onto the next stage. Ross and Denis in GUE and Richard in WVK flying together made it easily to the square dam but then struggled for a while until discovering lift from the moist air directly over the dam. Adam and Steve in GKX and Mike and Kieren in BGE had not yet managed to get out of the Boonah area.

The next turn point was Rathdowney, up the Beaudesert valley with its long flat paddocks and always in glide of Kooralbyn strip. This is a comfortable leg of the task.

WUN and NTT well ahead, GUE found a big thermal over the hills and was quickly over Rathdowney, WVK could not get anywhere so headed for the safety of Kooralbyn. GKX was now over Beaudesert and on their way to setting the fastest time of the day. BGE failed to get out of Boonah area and was struggling to get back to the strip.

The next turn point was Maroon dam wall and then back to Boonah. The out-landing options from Rathdowney to Maroon do not look very inviting but once past the dam wall there are once again plenty of options all the way back to Boonah.

WUN and NTT finished early, GUE had an easy glide back from the dam wall at 100kts arriving at over 2000ft. WVK managed to find some lift over Kooralbyn and used this to head straight for home. GKX arrived home in just over an hour with an average speed of around 90 km/hr.

The next club day is planned for 18 December. It is great fun, don’t miss it.

Gone Green

Its been a while since blogging so now an update. We have officially gone green by installing a solar hot water system and solar panels on the roof. We thought if we live in the sunshine state then we should make use of the free energy. Our roof is ideally situated to take full advantage of the sun as it faces north. It was really great once the solar power system was installed to see our meter going backwards(!). In a few weeks time we will have a smart meter installed so we can export our excess energy to the grid and earn some money back

Visit to Winery & Lavendar Farm for a lunchtime meal

On Sunday we went out for a lunchtime treat. A meal at a winery near Boonah. The day was a bit overcast but we had a nice meal, glass of wine and a chat with the owner who told us of how he built the winery going $1 million overbudget ($3 million total!). It was his wife's dream to have a winery and restaraunt but she is ill and now he is left to run it.

Centenary Rocks!

On Saturday Inge and I went to the local festival in the park, lots of alternative stuff including solar power, electric bicycles, yoga demos, food and bands playing.
We had a great time.

Poco and Droelie getting on fine

So after a week Droelie has accepted Poco. Its nice to see them together. Here's a few photos of them and us. Its been quite cold the last week with night temps down to 8C so we've had our wood burning fire on every night.

New Kitten - Poco

He is 9 weeks old. We got him two days ago. A saimese cross. He is quite vocal, likes cuddles and attention and is quite bold. Droelie is gradually warming to him, at first hissing and growling but it will get better we are sure..

Ron Mueck Sculpture Exhibition

Today we visited the Gallery of Modern Art in the city to see the scultures of Ron Meuck. See below. Pretty lifelike even though some of the statutes are 4m tall. It was really interesting to see the video of how the artist makes them, so labour intensive!
check out the video here :
http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/ron_mueck/video

The write up on the exhibition is below..







This exhibition surveys a group of major works by Australian-born, London-based sculptor Ron Mueck. Mueck’s sculptures are some of the most widely acclaimed and identifiable works in the international contemporary art arena. Often naked and suspended in states of self-consciousness, introspection or deep contemplation, his figures present both emotional and physical states of exposure. Astounding in their realism, Mueck’s works have earned him a singular place as the creator of some of the most evocative sculptures of our time. Featuring celebrated works from Australian and international collections, in addition to new sculptures, it will be one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of Mueck’s work ever presented.

Queen's Day comes early to Queensland

There is a small retirement village here in Brisbane called the Prins Alexander Village which is for elderly dutch residents who emigrated to Australia in the 1950's. Its aim is to create a happy, homely environment in pleasant surroundings promoting and incorporating the Dutch culture, whilst maintaining the Australian culture to enhance and maintain links with extended family, friends and the general community. At least that's what their website says.

In mid April they hold their own "Konninnedag" celebrations with goodies and food imported from Holland and dress up in traditional clothing so it looks like Volendam, Marken. So a chance to taste worst, poffertjes, cheese, etc and well as a 2nd hand market, so just like Holland on Queens Day. The houses are a bit like the Volendam sort and it all feels very surreal...more like Holland than Holland itself!
So is this where Inge and I will end up when we retire in 2035....I hope not!

Garden finally finished

After getting the paving works done and creating a new patio area and getting a shade sail installed we got a horticulturalist in (Dean) to advise us on the garden and landscape and plant it out. The planting is in a tropical style with plants that do well in the climate here. The shade sail above the patio means that we can now sit down there at the bottom of the garden admiring the garden in the hot summer months. Its nice sitting down there reading a book or having a beer, it has a different feeling than sitting on the verandah.

We are very pleased with the result, see photos below

Sue out of hospital and goes gliding!

Its been quite a few hectic weeks visiting Sue in hospital. Sue had an operation due to a blockage in her bowel and spent 10 days in hospital in total. Five days ago she was discharged and could come home with us. So now she has to recover before she can make the flight back to the UK. She will leave on 25th April.

On Sunday I took Sue and Inge out to the gliding club and took Sue for a passenger flight, see photos

Sue in Hospital

On Tuesday night, the night before she was due to leave I took Sue (my cousin) to hospital as she had severe abdominal pains. She was admitted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital the same night and is now waiting for a keyhole operation to remove a blockage in her small intestine. So I was quite busy rebooking her flight, speaking to the travel agent and insurance company and taking everyone to visit her in hospital.
Fingers crossed all goes well. I rebooked her flight until 3 April but that may have to be extendeed again based on her recovery.

Cyclone damage

Here's a link to some more photos of the Cyclone and the damge which resulted

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/gallery-e6frer9f-1225843212680

Cyclone Ului hits north Queensland

A MAJOR cleanup of parts of Central Queensland will take days as dozens of communities work around the clock to recover from the devastating affects of Cyclone Ului.

Many homes, businesses and farms had trees, powerlines, parts of buildings and signs that came crashing down in the winds that reached more than 200km/h.

But less than 24 hours on, conditions in Mackay - one of the worst-hit communities - remain calm with minimal wind conditions and clear skies.

SES workers and emergency services have worked around the clock to clean up the mess after ripping winds and heavy rainfall hit the region.

More than 50,000 homes in Mackay remain without power.

North Queensland residents cleaning up damage from Cyclone Ului now face the prospect of flooding with up to 450mm of rain reported in the area.

My cousing Sue was up there a week ago, she was really lucky going when she did...

Swimming in the freshwater lakes on Moreton Island

These are the freshwater lakes on Moreton Island that you can swim in. The dark lake was like swimming in tea, said Sue. Nice and cool in the heat, it was 29C that day.